


Nowhere to Go - a Pricingham Story

by Anya4202



Category: The Book of Mormon - Parker/Stone/Lopez
Genre: Arnold is a bean and needs to be protected, Kevin has anxiety, M/M, Pricingham, i ship it like fedex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-18
Updated: 2017-07-18
Packaged: 2018-12-03 22:47:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 20,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11542005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anya4202/pseuds/Anya4202
Summary: Kevin Price's life was not off to a very good start on his first mission.  The location of Uganda and his companion Arnold Cunningham certainly aren't the first things he would've prayed to Heavenly Father for. But, are things really as bad as they seem?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello (pun completely intended oops)! How surprising. Anyway, thanks for reading and I'll update as soon as I can! This chapter was inspired by Melodiva's Stop.Breathe.Think on AO3. Check it out sometime! Love you guys, and ideas are always welcome, so don't be afraid to message me!

Kevin Price was supposed to change all of mankind on his mission. He was the perfect Mormon - perfect hair, smile, disposition, and grades. So what did he ever do to deserve to be sent to Uganda, of all places? Heavenly Father certainly knew he'd wanted to go to Orlando; Kevin had prayed about it for hours upon hours. Uganda was hot, dry, and quite possibly the worst place Kevin had ever been in. It didn't help that Arnold Cunningham, Kevin's mission companion, was very easily distracted and quite obnoxious.

"Hey best friend, look! I brought my Star Wars action figures!" Arnold stated, dumping them out of his bag and onto the small seat on the bus next to them.

"That's wonderful, Elder Cunningham," Kevin replied, obviously uninterested in his partner's enthusiasm.

The two stepped off the bus, and were greeted with guns and a luggage robbery. Africa sure was off to a great start. However, they did meet a very nice girl named Nabulungi. She sufficiently warned them about the dangers of staying out past dark, and led them to their hut they would be sharing with the other elders of District 9.

"Let's go meet the other elders! I'm sure they've converted so many of the people here already," Arnold said, walking towards the door. "But with you here, you'll certainly change everything and help all these Africans come to the church. If anyone can do it, it'll be you, buddy!"

Kevin's lips turned up in a small smile. The positive side of him always appreciates Arnold's off-hand comments that gave him the confidence he needed to truly change the world.

"Thank you Elder Cunningham, now let's go meet the others."

The common area the elders shared was filled with white shirts, black ties, and smiling faces.

"Hello, Elder Price and Cunningham! It's very nice to have you here, we've all been waiting for a change," Said the red-headed elder, clearly grateful for their arrival. "I'm Elder McKinley, and it's wonderful to be your district leader."

"Oh, hello!" Said Kevin, taken aback at the fact that they were all expecting a 'change'. Haven't they changed Uganda enough already?

"Hi!" Arnold said, a little too loudly. "This is my best friend, Kevin Price! And he's gonna change the entire world with his amazing personality! He's, like, the greatest, best, most deserving elder the Center's ever seen!"

Kevin blushed, a light pink tinting his cheeks. He prayed to Heavenly Father that Arnold would think it would be because of the Ugandan heat.

"So, how many have you baptized so far?" Kevin asked earnestly.

"Well... zero," Elder McKinley stated, clearly ashamed of their lack of baptisms.

"At least there's nowhere to go but up," Arnold said, stifling laughter.

"Elder Cunningham! This isn't funny!" Kevin snapped, turning to face his companion.

"Elder Price, are you alright?" McKinley asked, concerned at the outburst.

Kevin whipped around, irritated and slightly panicked.

"Yeah, I'm just a little confused. I need to take a break, I'll be back," Kevin said before quickly walking out of the hut and shutting the door behind him.

"Buddy, wait!" Arnold cried, scrambling to follow.

Kevin was sitting on a makeshift wooden bench not too far away from the hut. His face was paler than normal and even from a few paces away, Arnold could see that his hands were shaking. Kevin saw Arnold standing there and bent over, putting his elbows on his knees and his hands over his face. Arnold walked over to his friend, worriedly sitting down next to the taller brunette. 

"Kevin?" Arnold asked gently, pulling Kevin's hands away from his face and holding them in his own. "Buddy? I need you to talk to me, okay?"

"E-Elder C-Cunningham, I'm s-sorry," Kevin started.

"No, no, no, best friend. Call me Arnold, and you don't need to be sorry about anything."

Kevin just shook his head.

"There's no way I'll be able to do something in this place. Not now, and not ever," Kevin whispered. His trembling had increased by now and his entire frame was shaking with the fear that he could not live up to the world's expectations. Kevin's looked around, panicked, and suddenly his whole chest was being suffocated. Kevin couldn't breathe. He desperately looked at Arnold, seeking the comfort that the regular, picture-perfect Kevin would never need. No, this was a version of Kevin that Arnold had never witnessed before. Vulnerable. Arnold felt his heart break.

"No, buddy, don't say that! You know you can change everything here. I know you can."

Arnold could see the tears that were welling up in Kevin's eyes. He reached out and took Kevin by the shoulders, carefully pulling the brunette into a hug, keeping one arm around him, and the other one softly stroking his companion's back, sometimes switching his attention to playing with his hair. Kevin let Arnold hold him and turned his face into Arnold's collar bone, trying to muffle his sobs.

Around twenty minutes later, Kevin's crying had subsided to sniffling every once in a while.

"Hey buddy, I know now's probably not the best time to say this, but we really need to go inside. You heard Neutrogena, it's not safe to be outside at night," Arnold spoke softly, standing up and taking Kevin's shaking hands in his.

The short walk back to the hut seemed to take hours, if only because Arnold was supporting Kevin's tired body against him the entire time. Once they returned, the elders were waiting expectantly.

"So, where have you two been? We've all been waiting to show you to your room," an elder said. Elder Pop Tarts, maybe?

Even though the greeting has sounded forced and rehearsed, Arnold smiled gratefully and lead Kevin to their shared room. Kevin was still silent, but changed into more comfortable clothes and laid down on the bed.

An hour passed before any words were exchanged between the two.

"H-Hey, Arnold?"

"Yeah, best friend?"

"Thanks."

"No problem. I'd do anything for you."

Kevin smiled, just a small upturn of the lips. It was this moment that Kevin knew Heavenly Father knew what he was doing when he set up Arnold to be his partner.

"Kevin?"

"Yes?"

"You know we're definitely talking about this tomorrow, right?" Arnold asked, turning over in his bed to face Kevin.

"Sure, pal."


	2. Talking it Out

The next morning, Arnold was gone when Kevin woke up. He knew he must be late when the boy who loved to sleep as late as possible was up before him. Kevin sat up and rubbed his eyes, groggily changing and stepping out into the elders' common area.

"Good morning, Elder Price!" Elder McKinley said, too brightly for Kevin's preference.

"Good morning, elders," he replied, sitting on the couch.

"So, Elder Price, what's your plan to convert these villagers? We've been trying, but General Butt-Effing-Naked always gets in the way. They're all so scared of what he'll do that they won't listen to anyone else."

"Well... um," Kevin started. He was still shaken up from his panic attack the night before, and was now on edge if anyone had noticed.

Fortunately, Arnold came through the door, face lighting up when he saw that his buddy was awake.

"Well, look who decided to join the land of the living," Arnold joked.

The small quip was all Kevin needed to boost his confidence enough again to think.

"Well, we could tell them the history of the Book of Mormon, and then sell it to them because it gives them hope for a better life."

"Like a commercial! The buy-one-get-one-free kind! Purchase a hope for a better life after death, and order now and we'll also throw in a set of steak knives! That's a great idea, best friend!" Arnold added, beaming.

"We'll definitely try it. But why don't you two stay inside today and take the day off. I know it's unconventional on a first mission, but we all learned the hard way that the humidity and the heat needs some time to get used to. We'll be back around noon, with hopefully some new baptisms!" McKinley said.

"Thank you Elder McKinley, but-" Kevin replied, but was cut off by his companion.

"Thank you sooooo much, Elder McKinley! I think a day off is just what we needed," Arnold said, nudging Kevin discreetly. Kevin sighed and nodded in agreement.

"However, please do refrain from any, you know, unlawful activities," McKinley said. "We wouldn't want to disappoint Heavenly Father, now would we?" He said, wiggling his eyebrows. Elder McKinley then continued to enthusiastically lecture the two on how holding in your gay feelings were a much better option for their lifestyle. 

"I think that having gay thoughts is okay, as long as you don't act on them," Kevin countered.

"Well, no," McKinley stated, sounding final.

Kevin's practiced perfect smile faltered for just a second, not noticeable unless you looked for it. Arnold noticed.

"Ok, sounds good, whatever floats your boat, can we go now?" Elder Poptart asked.

"Yes, alright. We'll see you two silly geese in a few hours!" McKinley responded, half-walking half-skipping out of the door.

"And he's the one that's telling us not be gay?" Arnold laughed.

Kevin smirked, if only slightly let down internally. The last year had been very, let's say enlightening, for Kevin. He had recently been introspective enough to confirm his sexuality. Kevin Price, poster Mormon child, was gay. And nobody needed to know about it.

Kevin was broken out of his reverie when Arnold grabbed his hand and pulled him down to sit next to him on the couch, the room now empty.

"See, I told you we would talk about it today," Arnold grinned smugly.

"Wait, did you actually convince Elder McKinley to let us stay here today?" Kevin was shocked.

"Well... yeah."

"Arnold, that's amazing!"

"But we're not here to talk about my convincing-yet-sketchy ideas to make us stay here. We're here so we can talk about last night, buddy I was and still am so worried about you."

"Oh I'm fine, it was nothing. It's all better now that it's a new day," Kevin said, plastering on the mask that he wore in front of everyone and their too-high expectations.

"Bull. Poop. And you know it."

"Well, what did you expect? Me to share all of my thoughts and feelings with you right away? I've barely known you for two days," Kevin snapped, suddenly defensive.

Arnold looked hurt.

"W-we did go to school together, you know," Arnold said, looking down. However aggravating Kevin might be, Arnold refused to give up on getting to the bottom of what was bothering his best buddy, no matter what it took.

It was Kevin's turn to look at his hands that were neatly folded in his lap.

"Maybe I should start with the 'sharing all my inner thoughts and feelings' and stuff," Arnold suggested, thinking that it was probably easier for Kevin to share if he had something to go off of instead of just randomly spilling his guts.

Kevin looked wearily at his mission companion, but nodded his head in agreement.

"Well, you saw how my father was when we left. 'Do this, do that, don't do this', etcetera. He's so worried that I'll screw things up and I'll actually become the family disappointment he's always seen me as. When we were on our way to the airport, he told me that he was glad I'd be thousands of miles away, and that he's happy I went to Uganda because he feels like he won't have to be stuck with me anymore. I'm just the failure of the family," Arnold stated, closing his eyes and trying to stop the tears that blurred his vision from falling.

"Arnold, no. You're not a failure. And besides, you're the only real friend I've ever had," Kevin said reassuringly.

"You're just saying that to make me feel better."

"No, Arnold, I'm really not."

Arnold sniffed at looked up at his best friend.

"Do you really mean it?"

"Of course, pal."

"Well, enough about me! What about you? Last night couldn't have been fun, and I want to know what's going on in that perfect head of yours, so I can help you next time," Arnold grinned, eager to coax Kevin into talking about himself in a non-egotistical manner.

"What about me? There's nothing to talk about, Arnold."

Arnold sighed. Kevin was stubborn.

"Buddy, please can we just talk about last night? I really want to help you. You're the perfect Mormon, and I want you to see that as well as everybody else."

"Quit saying I'm perfect!" Kevin cried. He abruptly stood from his position next to Arnold on the couch and began to pace. "I never have been, and never will be the perfect Mormon! I don't know why everyone thinks I am, they set their expectations way too high and when I can't meet them, I feel like I have to try harder, and when that doesn't work, I just feel like I'm not good enough! Last night when we arrived it felt like I couldn't breathe simply because there were zero baptisms and absolutely no hope. And Elder McKinley just wanted me to fix it with a magic wand! How can I fix an entire village when I can't even fix myself?"

That's when Arnold stood up and enveloped his companion in a hug for a second time in twenty-four hours. They stayed like that until Kevin's ragged breathing had calmed down significantly. Arnold pulled away, took Kevin's hand, and sat them both back on the couch.

"Uh.. Kevin... what exactly did you mean when you said 'I will never be the perfect Mormon'? You're the literal prime example for at least three quarters of our town, they wouldn't know what to do with themselves if you weren't the poster child for their kids."

"Well, I mean, it's a bit complicated, and I only completely discovered it recently..."

"Come on Kevin, you know you can tell me anything. We're friends for life, remember?"

"Arnold, I'm gay."


	3. In Which Arnold is an Angel

"What? You're gay?" Arnold said, entirely too loudly.

Kevin flinched. Great. His only actual friend would think he's a filthy, rule-breaking, generally awful person, much less a Mormon.

"...Yeah," Kevin looked anywhere but his friend's eyes.

"That's awesome!" Arnold exclaimed, clearly happy for his buddy.

Kevin was stunned. He knew Arnold has always been a little loose on following the rules, but this was such a big deal that he had no idea what to expect from his bubbly companion.

"So, you're not mad?" Kevin asked, still nervous about Arnold's reaction.

"Of course not, best friend! Remember, I'm always here for you."

Of course, Arnold would never admit to Kevin that he was gay. It wasn't the fact that he was gay that bothered him: he's had a crush on his mission companion from the moment he saw him at school. The perfect smile, perfect hair, and perfect grades. The perfect Mormon. And now that they were friends, Arnold knew he could completely jeopardize that by telling him that he's loved him from the start.

Their shared moment was interrupted by Elder McKinley and crew walking in the door.

"Hello, elders!" Arnold said, smiling at the missionaries. "We were just talking about-"

Kevin kicked him in the shin. "-how wonderful it is to be here." Kevin finished, glancing at Arnold, who was now red in the face. "How did it go?"

McKinley sighed and sat down in the small couch next to Kevin. The latter unconsciously scooted next to Arnold.

"Not too well, everyone is still too afraid of the General to do anything too drastic, however good that might be."

"Oh, Heavenly Father, how are we ever going to convert these people?" Kevin said, resting his chin in his hands.

"It's all because of that General Butt-Effing-Naked. It's his fault," Arnold replied, pouting.

"Arnold, that's it! If we want to solve the problem, we have to get to the root of it: the General. If we can somehow convert or scare away the General, then we can lead the rest of the village to the church! But let's try to convert him first, since we're all about that 'kill them with kindness' kind of thing," Kevin proposed.

"Sounds like a plan!" Elder McKinley replied, organizing his stack of books. "We'll start tomorrow."

For the rest of the day, the elders wandered around the village to see how many people were affected by the General, and if there were any who weren't scared of him. That would mean a quicker conversion. Kevin and Arnold mainly stuck around Nabulungi's hut, which was very entertaining since Arnold could never quite pronounce her name.

"Hey Nala, did you hear anything about our church today?" Kevin asked, intrigued by the fact that they had actually used his idea.

"Well, yes, but no one would really listen, because everyone has enough to worry about already," Naba replied.

Shortly after, all the elders returned to their shared hut, and decided what the best course of action would be.

"Well, we definitely need to try and convert the General at least one more time before trying to scare him off. If we can get him to be a Mormon, then most of the village is guaranteed to follow in his footsteps," Kevin said.

"And if it doesn't work?" Arnold responded. "What do we do then?"

"Then we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. But for now, elders, we must try our very best to get the General to come to the church," McKinley stated.

"Then maybe a one-on-one type of situation would be more beneficial?" Suggested Elder Church.

"That just might work better!" Kevin said.

"So... who should go and confront him?" Elder Pop Tarts asked, all the elders looking worriedly around at each other.

"I think it should be my best friend ever!" Arnold exclaimed, clearly happy for an opportunity to compliment his friend without any sort of non-platonic context behind it. That way Kevin would still know about his amazing abilities without the actual knowledge about his crush. "I mean, he's just like, the best Mormon that I've ever known, and he would be great at trying to talk some sense into the General!"

Kevin blushed and turned away so no one would notice.

"Yes, yes, perfect. It would be a great idea to have you do this, Kevin, it's your ideal chance to prove yourself as a Mormon missionary. But no pressure or anything like that," McKinley said, laughing airily at the end.

After eating their dinner, the elders returned to their respective rooms in the hut. Once alone in their room, Kevin started to pace. He ran his hands repeatedly and harshly through his perfectly-styled hair. Arnold came in right behind his buddy and sat on his bed. He watched Kevin pace for a few minutes, before getting more and more concerned when Kevin's grip on his head got tighter.

"Hey, friend, are you okay?"

"No, Arnold, I'm really not. Why did you have to recommend me to confront a murdering dictator?" Kevin said. But he didn't sound mad; he just sounded tired.

"Because if anyone can bring this village to the church, it'd be you," Arnold responded. 

He was sweet, and that was one characteristic that Kevin had always admired about his friend. Kevin could be nice, but it was almost never genuine. Not like Arnold.

"Sorry I'm such a-" Kevin started, not really sure what to say after that. He was so many negative things that there wasn't one word that could even try to capture them all.

"Self-absorbed, egotistical brat?" Arnold questioned, knowing now wasn't the best time to make fun of Kevin when he was so anxious, but he knew what he was doing. He hoped it worked.

"Yeah. Exactly." Kevin said sadly.

"But you know what?"

"What," Kevin said, not really feeling like listening to more deserved insults. He prepared to tune out any lectures his mother or father would give him when he did even the slightest thing wrong.

"You're also caring, sincere, funny, and downright sweet, even if you don't show it all the time."

Kevin was generally surprised. He opened his mouth a little to reply, but nothing came out. He sat down on his bed, and finally took his hands out of his hair, which was now far from neat.

"Well, so much for being the perfect Mormon everyone thought I was," Kevin whispered, forcing a laugh.

"Buddy?" Arnold asked, brushing a strand out hair out of Kevin's face.

"Yeah?"

"You're perfect to me."


	4. Accidents

When morning came, Kevin was the most anxious he had ever been in his life. Being there with Arnold made it marginally better, however. His best friend always knew how to cheer him up.

"Good morning, buddy!" Arnold said, yawning at the same time.

"Morning," Kevin replied, a small smile on his face, quickly disappearing because his anxiety took over once again.

"You ready for today?"

"As I'll ever be."

The two got out of bed, changed, brushed their teeth, and headed out to the common area, where the other elders were already waiting.

"Ah, Elder Price, are you prepared to face the General?" McKinley questioned.

"Yeah, actually I am, thanks to my pal Elder Cunningham here."

Arnold blushed, and of course Elder McKinley noticed. The latter winked and Arnold turned redder until he resembled a tomato.

All the elders gave Kevin good luck wishes and pats on the back, and soon Kevin was out the door. Kevin Price was going to change the world. He could feel it.

The walk to the General's quarters was a nerve-racking one. The closer he got, the more anxious he felt. He wished his best friend was here to make a Star Wars reference or make fun of Elder McKinley's flowery suitcase.

He knocked on the door, and was greeted with a typical guns-pointed-in-your-face greeting.

"Hello, General. Nice to see you again," Kevin started with false confidence that he prayed wouldn't be noticed.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing back here?" The General said, glaring at the already nervous Mormon.

"I-I, um, just wanted to show you how amazing it is to truly believe in something."

Kevin's facade was cracking and he knew it. Come on, Kevin. Just be the Elder Price that you were known for. The one who wasn't afraid and could handle anything.

"Believe in what? There's literally nothing in this fucking wasteland of a country." The General snorted.

"But that's the point. There doesn't have to be something there. That's why you just have hope and believe. Look, I'm just an ordinary, self-centered kind of guy, but with this, there's the dream that I can change lives. That I can be a better man than I've ever been. And it all started the moment I opened that book. And I just believed. Gosh dang it, a Mormon just believes. Now, what'd do you say? Do you wanna give it a try?" Kevin asked, a little shocked at his monologue. He handed the General the Book of Mormon, and stepped back.

The General took the book and merely laughed.

"Now this is pure bullshit. I won't have this fucked up religion in my village."

Two armed men took Kevin by the arms and shoved him to the ground. There was a thud, and Kevin's vision went black.

Four hours later, and Kevin stumbled into the doctor's office. Well, office was one way to put it. There was a small table Kevin assumed to be for the patient next to a couple of machines, and two chairs in the corner of the room. There was a typical counter with a couple of alcohol wipes and syringes. Kevin surmised that vaccinations were very uncommon here in Uganda. Thank Heavenly Father there was an X-Ray machine.

"So, Elder Price, Kevin is it?" Asked the doctor.

"Please, call me Kevin," was the reply, barely more than a strained whisper.

"What seems to be the problem?"

"Well, I don't really know, I was trying to talk to the General and I blacked out after a few minutes. The last thing I remember was two of his men shoving me to the ground. But now there seems to be some pain in my, uh, lower abdomen."

"Well, we should probably take an X-Ray then."

The results came in less than five minutes later. That was when Kevin Price was informed that he had the Book of Mormon shoved up his ass.

After the removal of the foreign object, Kevin decided to stumble his way to the local coffee stand. Yes, of course he knew he would be breaking the rules, but he was beyond hopeless. His mission had failed, a book had been forced into his butt, and his best friend was nowhere in sight. Kevin deserved a break.

Twelve cups of coffee and three hours later, Kevin decided it was time to return to the hut. He had to do it, which is what he told himself repeatedly while limping over there. Do it for Arnold.

All of the elders were sitting in the cramped common area when Kevin returned. They seemed to be congratulating Arnold for some reason, with all of the "I'm glad you told us", "That's so cool", "Oh boy not another one" and other phrases being thrown around with a smile.

"Told us what?" Kevin asked while entering the room. Everyone stopped to stare at the wreck of a missionary that was Kevin Price. 

"Oh, it's really nothing," Arnold said, not looking at his friend.

"Come on, Elder Cunningham, if it deserves a group congratulations, it certainly can't be just nothing."

"Kevin, please don't-"

"Arnold. You can tell me anything, remember?"

"I'm gay too, alright?" Arnold cried, finally exasperated enough to confess.

"Arnold, really? That's so amazing!" responded Kevin, secretly happy that the sneaking suspicion he of his best friend's sexuality had been true all along.

"Ok, yeah, whatever, cool. Kevin!" Arnold exclaimed.

"Yes?"

"You look awful, you know that?" 

"Thanks, Arnold," said Kevin sarcastically.

"How did your mission go?"

"I'll tell you later. All I'm saying to the group is that I have greatly failed at being a Mormon."

"It's really okay, Elder Price. I'm sure you can think of some other way to help save the village," McKinley reassured.

"Well, we'll be heading to bed early, if that's alright with everyone. Kevin, you're shaking, and I won't have you go to bed like that. Just, let's go to our room, ok best buddy?" Arnold offered.

"Yeah. Sounds good to me."


	5. Late Nights

"Kevin Price, what happened to you?"

That was the question of the night.

"It's a long story."

"Yeah, but I have time and you know that," said Arnold, patting the space on his bed next to him.

Kevin crossed the room and sat next to his friend. He thought for a moment. Should he really tell Arnold the whole story? It was too embarrassing to explain how the General... you know. His internal conflict was brought to an end by the shorter man putting a hand on his shoulder and rubbing it lightly.

"Buddy, please talk to me. I know your mission didn't go as well as you'd thought it would, but you look terrible. You know what happened the last time you got a little stressed about converting the village, and I really don't want to see that happen again. Please, Kevin, you're my best friend. Tell me what happened, you know I'll be there no matter what." And that part was absolutely true; Arnold would do anything for his friend, his buddy, his crush. Oops. He hadn't meant to go that far. Arnold already admitted he was gay, but he didn't have the courage to tell Kevin who it was he liked.

Kevin sighed. This was going to be a long night.

"Well, when I went to the General's quarters, I tried to talk to him and tell him that it's always nice to believe in something, you know? And he didn't want any part of the church, and he was really obvious about it. So two of his armed men pushed me down and-" said Kevin, voice cracking.

Arnold gave an encouraging nod, silently supporting his friend and wanting him to finish his story.

"And I felt something hit me on the head. The next time I woke up, I was in a lot of pain, and I went to the doctor," Kevin continued.

"Because of your head?"

"No, it was because," Kevin was tearing up now because of the humiliation. "Because General Butt-Effing-Naked stuck the holy Book of Mormon up my, um, rectum."

"Oh, Heavenly Father, Kevin, I'm so sorry," replied Arnold, pulling his buddy into a hug.

"Turns out I'm just a failure who doesn't know anything about bringing people to the church."

"Hey, don't say that! You're the best person I know," Arnold said, gently wiping away Kevin's tears which had started to stream down his face.

"Arnold, today I drank twelve cups of coffee. That's not the Kevin Price that you knew."

"But that doesn't matter anymore, you were in a lot of pain. Everyone makes mistakes."

Kevin stayed in the comfortable silence that followed. What did he do to ever deserve such a wonderful friend like Arnold? He knew that if he didn't deserve him even as a friend, there would be no chance that he would ever reciprocate his feelings.

"Kevin, buddy, we should probably get some sleep. It's been a long day, and we need to rest for tomorrow," Arnold suggested, and Kevin retreated to his own bed and slipped under the sheets.

"Goodnight, Arnold. Thanks for being you."

"Nighty night, Kevin. See you in the morning."

And with that, Arnold fell asleep with a smile on his face for the first time in years.

Here he was. The one place he always knew. The flames, the heat, the devil, and all of the people he knew taunting him from above. Arnold Cunningham was in hell. He looked around, frightened, and searched for a way to escape this place. Perfect, there was a door not too far away from where he was standing. Arnold ran towards it, only to be stopped by a wall of flames and a very familiar face. Kevin Price was blocking his exit.

"Kevin? What're you doing here?" Arnold questioned.

"You know why. To tell you what you always expected to hear, to tell you what you've always heard. You know it's what you deserve. We don't want you here, Elder Cunningham. Especially not in my room, you disgusting piece of trash. Being gay is a sin and yet you still are open about it. I want you to leave Uganda and I never want to see your face again. You don't deserve anything you've gotten, you pig."

"B-But Kevin! You said-" said Arnold desparately, but was soon cut off by Kevin.

"I don't care what I said," snapped the taller elder. "No one could ever love you."

Kevin woke up to the sound of Arnold tossing and turning in the bed across the room. Small whimpers could be heard, and Arnold was clearly sweating. It must be a hell dream. With this deduction, Kevin climbed out of his bed and walked over to where his friend was fitfully sleeping.

"Kevin, no," was the cry that came from Arnold's throat, strangled and distraught.

"Arnold, wake up. It's just a dream," Kevin said, trying to gently shake his friend awake, but to no avail. "Arnold! Wake up!"

The sleeping boy jerked awake at this, breathing heavily and he clearly had no idea where he was. Kevin simply climbed into the bed next to him, and wrapped his arms around Arnold's middle. Arnold started thrashing around, still uncertain of his surroundings and petrified of someone holding him back from escaping the fiery pits of hell. Kevin struggled to hold onto him, but after a couple of minutes Arnold broke out of his half-asleep terror. He took one look at the brunette and tried to break away again, remembering the horrible dream. Kevin only held him tighter, whispering sweet reassurances into his ear while rubbing circles onto his back.

"Nightmare?" Kevin asked, and Arnold merely nodded.

"Hell dream?"

Arnold nodded again.

"Want to talk about it?"

Arnold looked up at him fearfully, knowing that he would have to explain the part of Kevin being, well, not Kevin.

"Hey, you know you're always here for me, so I want to be there for you this time, ok? Just talk it out," Kevin said, voice barely above a whisper.

"It was a hell dream. And there was a door that lead out of hell, and I was running to get to it, because I didn't want to be in hell! B-but then, there was so much fire, and you were there, a-and-" Arnold was crying by this point, so Kevin pulled him closer and ran his hands through the shorter boy's curly hair.

"It's okay, you can tell me."

"You were there, and you called me disgusting, and y-you said that no one could ever love s-someone like me," said Arnold, crying harder.

"Arnold, you know that isn't true," replied Kevin.

They sat there in the bed for a few moments, roles somehow reversed, with Arnold being the one cuddled and not doing the actual cuddling. Arnold regained enough confidence to speak again.

"H-how would you know that?" he sniffled.

Kevin sighed and decided that it was either now or never.

"Because I'm in love with you, Arnold."


	6. Feelings

There were no words to describe the happiness that bubbled in his heart when Arnold heard those words. He sniffed and tried to comprehend the sentence that just came out of Kevin's mouth.

"You... love me?" Arnold spoke softly, wonder in his eyes. He pulled away from Kevin's arms and stared at him in disbelief. Kevin mistook that for disgust, and immediately tried to backtrack.

"Well, um, if you don't feel the same way about me, then, um, I'msosorryArnoldIreallydidn'tmeantosaythat-" rushed Kevin, trying to cover up his mistake. He got up and stumbled out of the room, nearly blind with the lack of light and the tears starting to form in his eyes. It wasn't supposed to be like that. Arnold was supposed to confess for his life-long feelings, and then the two would be a couple and get through anything and everything together. Arnold wasn't supposed to look at him like that. With obvious hatred. (A/n god dammit Kevin why u gotta be like this)

Kevin didn't even know where he was going anymore. He had walked out of the elders' hut with no idea where he would go, but anywhere was better than in his room with Arnold. Arnold probably wanted to switch companions now. Where would he go now? Kevin had failed as a missionary, and now he had absolutely no one to have his back. His life was pointless without the shorter elder in his life, with all of his jokes and untimely laughs. He instantly knew that he had found his way to Nabulungi's hut. Even though it was almost three in the morning, he made the split-second decision to knock on her door. Five seconds later, a tired-looking Naba emerged from her doorway with a confused expression.

"Elder Price, what are you doing here? It's late- or early, but it's no time to be up and wandering around! You know I warned you about the dangers of this place at night, especially alone," she said, welcoming him inside.

"Yeah, well, it's not like I care about getting shot by the General now, or any other 'dangers of this place', in fact." Truth be told, Kevin already decided that life wasn't worth living without his mission companion. And if Arnold's disgust really was real, then he'd already planned the perfect way to make it look like an accident.

"Alright, sit down. What's bothering you? Oh, wait, does it have to do with Elder Cunningham?"

"How did you know that?" Kevin said miserably, but the Mormon was intrigued now.

"Well, he came to my hut yesterday right after you left. He was really worried about you, you know," Naba explained. "He also wanted to know how you felt about him, because he's, wait do you know he's-"

"Gay? Yeah, I kind of made him tell me yesterday after I walked in on a council meeting where he told everyone."

"So, do you like him? Don't lie to me, I've seen the way you two look at each other."

"Naba, I've loved him from the moment he found me on that bench after we found out we've brought none of your people to our church, it's not my feelings I'm worried about. Literally twenty minutes ago I told him I love him, and he just kind of stared at me."

"And you left? Elder Price, what the fuck were you doing?" Naba exclaimed.

"I thought he hated me."

Naba started laughing so hard she almost cried.

"Arnold Cunningham? Hate you? Elder Price, you oblivious little shit!"

"Wait, what?"

"The other reason Elder Cunningham came to visit me was to tell me he loved you!"

Kevin was stunned. He had never thought such an overall good person like Arnold could ever love someone like him. Someone who put a mask on every single day in hopes of deceiving the world from seeing the brokenness inside of him. Someone who drank twelve entire cups of coffee in hopes of drowning his pain when he knew it would break the rules. Someone who'd had the hell dream repeatedly because he knew there would always be something wrong with him. Someone who faked every single smile except when he was around the light that was Arnold Cunningham.

"Now. That we've established your mutual pining, go and don't let him think you don't mean what you said, or think it's really his fault that you left!" Naba said, pushing him out the door.

"Okay, I will, thanks Naba!"

Kevin ran as fast as he could back to their hut, head swimming with all sorts of different ways he could apologize to Arnold. He quietly opened the door, trying not to wake up any of the other elders who were sleeping in the other rooms. That would be not be a great morning if they all heard there mutual love confession. He walked into their room and saw the sniffling mess that was Elder Cunningham.

"Arnold?" Kevin ask quietly, coming to sit on the end of his companion's bed, not really sure how to correctly approach the situation.

"Kevin I'm so so so sorry! I didn't want to just stare at you like that, I promise! I really really like you and I think I love you too and I just didn't know how to-"

Kevin cut him off by scooting over to Arnold and pressing their lips together. After a few seconds of pure joy, Arnold pulled away.

"You really meant it, didn't you? You love me?" Arnold questioned.

"Arnold Cunningham, from the moment you pulled out those action figures on the bus to Uganda, I knew you were something special. It was only when you found me on the bench that I knew someone cared. That's why I love you. Because you care," Kevin said, nose-to-nose with Arnold.

"Well, that's good, because I've always loved you since forever!" Arnold replied, leaning in and closing the gap between them once again. The soft kiss was broken by Arnold yawning.

"Let's actually get some sleep, pal," Kevin said, pulling the covers around both of them and cuddling up to Arnold's side. 

Arnold yawned once more.

"I love you, buddy."

"Love you too."


	7. Chapter 7

The next day would prove to be an eventful one for the two elders. Arnold was woken up to the sound of Kevin humming while folding his clothes. When he sat up at stretched, the taller brunette turned around and smiled the brightest smile Arnold had ever seen in his life.

"Good mounting, Arnold!" Kevin chirped, tossing his companion a fresh pair of clothes.

"Morning, Kevin," replied Arnold, giving him a sleepy smile in return.

Kevin's smile faltered for just a second.

"Arnold, what exactly are we now?"

Arnold's smile only grew at the idea of "we". "Well, I guess we kind of made out last night, so that would make us... boyfriends? But only if you're okay with that!" Arnold said quickly, in hopes of preventing any pressure being put on Kevin.

"That sounds perfect to me."

Arnold, after getting changed, walked over and took Kevin's hand before pulling him into the common room. There was already a conversation being had about what to do next with the conversion of the General.

"Alright, any suggestions?" Elder McKinley asked, looking around at the elders who had formed a circle around the small coffee table and couch.

"Let's just try again, but enter with a group this time!" Elder Neeley proposed.

"-But he could just take us all as his prisoners or kill us! Then who would be left to convert the rest of the village?" Elder Church interjected.

"We could try going one-on-one again," Elder Davis added.

"Do you remember what happened the last time we tried that? Kevin came back high on caffeine and looking terrible," Elder Davis countered.

Arnold and Kevin took the opportunity to step into the circle.

"Or we could just retaliate and stick the Book of Mormon up the General's-" Arnold said, but was elbowed by Kevin before he could finish the thought.

"Elders! This isn't getting us anywhere," Elder McKinley said, running a frustrated hand through his hair. "Wait, since you two have gotten so close recently, why don't you just go and try again together this time? This way, there isn't the chance of one of you disappearing without anyone else noticing, and we wouldn't have to risk the entire District 9."

Kevin and Arnold looked at each other.

"Sounds like a plan!" Arnold agreed.

"Yeah, okay," said Kevin, a little more hesitant to face the General once again.

"Alright! Good luck, and have fun!" McKinley said, walking them out the door.

"Wait, but-" Kevin tried to say, but the other elders were waving at them from the couch. Arnold took his hand and rubbed the back of it with his thumb, hoping Kevin would accept the gesture of comfort, since he rarely did when he was this lucid. When he was wearing his mask of forced perfection. Luckily for Arnold, Kevin didn't try to pull away. The two started the walk to the General's quarters. The more they walked, the more Arnold noticed Kevin's body language shift from normal to more and more anxious. His entire frame stiffened, and his replies to Arnold's jokes and attempts at conversation became more clipped and passive. Once they arrived at the door, Kevin visibly tensed even more, if that was possible.

"Buddy, it's gonna be okay. I've got you this time," Arnold said, and Kevin gave a small nod in return. That was more than Arnold could've ever hoped for.

The door opened, and the smirking face of General Butt-Effing-Naked appeared. Kevin gulped.

"Back again, are we?" The General spoke loudly, and it took all of Kevin's strength to not flinch back.

"Yeah, but this time he's got me! And we're going to show you that you can change your mind about the world! All you ever need to do is just have faith in Jesus Chr-" Arnold began enthusiastically.

The General, however, just looked bored. "Alright you two, you have five seconds to get the fuck out of my sight or else."

"Or else what?" Arnold challenged.

"Arnold," Kevin warned. "This isn't a good idea."

"He's right, you know. Listen to your friend. You have two seconds."

"I'm not leaving. What are you gonna do about it. Or else what?" Arnold said, stepping forward.

The General pushed past the Mormons and walked up to a Ugandan man. He grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled out a gun. He walked the man over to where Kevin and Arnold stood in shock.

"He's got a gun!" Arnold squeaked, jumping behind his taller companion. Kevin was so scared he couldn't even move out of the way.

"Or else I will get butt-fucking-naked and do this," snapped the General, putting the gun to the man's head and suddenly pulling the trigger. Blood splattered all over Kevin. He was covered in the red fluid from his hair, to his face, to the bottom of his shirt. The man's body had slumped onto the ground in front of Kevin, and the poor Mormon couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from the gruesome sight. The General smirked again and strolled back into his living quarters as though nothing had happened.

"K-Kevin?" Arnold stuttered, stepping out from behind his partner.

Kevin was frozen in place, and stiff as a board. Arnold could tell that if he wouldn't get his buddy back to the hut and cleaned up Kevin would be pushed into another panic attack. Arnold took his hand once more and led Kevin as quickly as possible back to their home. They were greeted by everyone at the door, and once they saw Kevin's appearance, they all stepped away to let the two through.

"Elders, I am so sorry I thought this would be a good idea, especially when Elder Price had already seen the damage that could be done," said Elder McKinley, shaking his head sadly. "Why don't you two go get cleaned up and we can talk about what to next later." McKinley's eyes lingered on their intertwined hands as they walked towards the shared bathroom. Arnold looked back and muttered a small "thanks" to Elder McKinley just in time to see a strange look in their leader's eyes. Was that... jealousy?

"Come on, buddy, how about you shower? I'm sure you'll feel better after one, it always seems to do the trick for me," Arnold suggested weakly, knowing that he had no idea what was going through Kevin's mind at the moment. Arnold hadn't actually seen the man be killed, he only heard the gunshot. His ears were still ringing.

Kevin numbly walked into the bathroom and took off his clothes before turning on the water and stepping into the shower. There were too many thoughts racing through his head. And no matter how hard he tried, Kevin couldn't seem to get the blood off of his body. He scrubbed and scrubbed until there was none left, but even then Kevin felt dirty and he couldn't shake the feeling that the man's blood was still dripping down his arms. Kevin scratched his arms until he drew his own blood, and that was the moment everything came crashing down. He stumbled out of the shower and took around ten minutes to finally put on his clothes since his hands were shaking so badly.

Kevin padded silently into their room and saw Arnold sitting on his bed, already having taken a shower in Elder Neeley and Elder Davis's room. Once he saw his boyfriend's bleeding arms, he ran over to their bags to take out the bandages they kept there for any situation. Bandages in hand, Arnold led Kevin back to his bed, and lightly pushing Kevin into a sitting position.

"Kevin, buddy!" Arnold whisper-shouted, not wanting to startle Kevin any more than he already was. Kevin didn't reply, and Arnold realized that he hadn't spoken since they saw the man get shot in the head. Kevin stared blankly at his boyfriend, looking at him but not seeing. Kevin was looking through him, and his breathing was quick and shallow. Arnold knew he would have to finish bandaging his arms fast in order to provide the comfort he knew Kevin needed, just in time to keep his buddy from spiraling down any more than he had already. Arnold started to wrap the bandages around Kevin's injured arms.

"Honey, why did you do this to yourself?" The pet name just sort of slipped out of Arnold's mouth without him really comprehending what he had just said. Once again, there was no response from Kevin. But the slight pressure from the bandages made the taller boy look down at his arms.

Kevin's brain only processed the blood that was starting to seep through the thin layer of cloth that Arnold had started to wrap around his arms. His breathing quickened and his chest felt tight again. His throat started to close up and Kevin realized that he couldn't talk even wanted to. He couldn't talk. He couldn't breathe. A choked whimper left his throat, and Arnold's eyes snapped from his arms to his face, filled with concern.

"Kevin, please look at me. Look at me," Arnold slipped a hand under Kevin's chin and tilted it up so Kevin was now looking into his eyes. "It's going to be okay."

Once Arnold finished wrapping Kevin's arms, Kevin immediately slumped into his boyfriend's arms; all of the energy he once possessed just left his body and his mind.

"Shh, little buddy. I've got you," cooed Arnold. He then laid down on the bed and pulled Kevin down with him. He started to rub Kevin's back, feeling his heart being pulled on by his companion's vulnerability. Kevin's mask had crumbled right in front of his eyes. In a strange way, Arnold was honored to see his mission companion at his worst, knowing he was lucky to have such an incredible boyfriend.

Around an hour later, Kevin finally mustered the confidence to speak.

"I-I don't deserve y-you," he stumbled over his words. Arnold pulled back and looked at Kevin's eyes, his expression full of worry.

"What do you mean, 'I don't deserve you'," he prompted softly.

"I m-mean, I'm just a-a guy who has too much a-anxiety and is a burden to anyone w-who gets close to me," Kevin whispered. Arnold wrapped his arms around him and pulling him closer, so Kevin's head was nestled into his neck and his arm was draped over his middle.

"Kevin price, you are not a burden. I'm so incredibly lucky to be with someone like you. But you have to stop holding yourself to these impossible standards, buddy. It's not healthy, and I just want you to be safe," explained Arnold, holding Kevin just a little bit tighter.

"You're lying," Kevin mumbled, fear obvious in his tone.

"Why would I lie about something like this?"

"Because that's what everyone's always done. They expect me to be the perfect child, the perfect Mormon, and I just can't do it. I can't do it, so I'm really fake because everyone who's ever loved me doesn't really know me. They only know the Elder Price that was going to do something incredible. Only you know me- the real me. This broken mess that I am," Kevin continued. Arnold's heart clenched even more at the explanation, but at least his companion was able to talk normally.

"And I'm so glad that I know that part of you, I personally think it's the best you. The real you that nobody else gets to see because they would probably be blind simply looking at your amazing personality," pressed Arnold, starting to stroke the brunette's hair. "Just promise to never hide that side of you from me ever again, okay honey? I just want you to know you can always be yourself in front of me, okay? Kevin?" Arnold asked, looking down after not receiving a response.

Kevin had fallen asleep cuddling up to Arnold, breathing steadily and a peaceful look on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, yes, it's like the same thing as the first chapter, but I absolutely love writing Kevin like this bc he's a lil anxious bean and I love hiimmmm. Thanks for reading!!


	8. Making Things Up Again

The new couple started to walk into the common room, but Arnold grabbed Kevin's wrist before they waked through the door.

"Hey, buddy? Do you think we should wait to tell the other elders about us? I mean, I know they were really accepting and everything, but did you see the was Elder McKinley looked at us yesterday?" Arnold stated.

Kevin just looked confused. Oh. He hadn't seen the look on McKinley's face because he was in the middle of panicking.

"Well, he, uh, sort of, looked a little... jealous I guess? I mean, we all know he's gay, but like," Arnold stumbled over his words, not exactly sure how to approach the situation. What if Kevin changed his mind and wanted to be with Elder McKinley instead? What if he just wasn't good enough anymore?

Arnold was shaken out of his insecurity by Kevin stepping in front of him and putting his hands on his shoulders. 

"Arnold, whatever comes our way, we're going to deal with it. Together. No matter what, I'll be here," Kevin said, leaning down and pecking Arnold on the cheek. "Now, let's go."

The two made it a point not to sit too close to each other on the couch.

"Elders! Today's a new day, and we must find a way to bring these people to the church, otherwise we'll be shut down for sure," McKinley emphasized. Everyone else had lost their hopes of converting the General ever since the two companions had returned, shocked and covered in blood. Elder McKinley was just trying to lead his missionaries, he wasn't trying to be overly strict. But this time he knew if they didn't act now their district would close down and they would all be separated. This Ugandan family was far too important to McKinley for him to just stand by and watch that happen.

"Let's try to convert the villagers first. If we can get them to believe, then we can rise up against the General as a team," McKinley stated, sounding final.

Kevin and Arnold looked at each other, silently waiting for one of the elders to voice a response.

"I think that's an amazing idea!" Elder Pop Tarts shouted, soon followed by statements of agreement from the rest of the common room.

"Let's go, elders of District 9!" McKinley exclaimed, and led the rest of the elders out of the door and into the Ugandan heat. 

Kevin stood up from the couch and offered Arnold a hand. "So, are you ready to go convert so villagers?" Arnold asked, taking Kevin's hand and joining the line of elders that were walking out of the hut.

"I just don't know how to go about doing it. I mean, if they're all too scared of the General, then how do we bring them to the church?" Kevin asked doubtfully. Doubt had planted a seed in his mind ever since he would be going to Uganda. The only thing that seemed to keep the seed from growing any more was Arnold and his sweet reassurances. 

They reached the village's center, and stood around in a circle to discuss the best course of action.

"Let's split up with our companion and divide and conquer," Arnold suggested.

"Sounds good to me," was the overall response.

Kevin and Arnold started the short walk to Nabulungi's hut, but not without a lingering glance from McKinley on their intertwined hands.

"Elder Cunningham, Elder Price? Is there anything you would like to tell me?"

Arnold could feel his companion tense. 

"N-No, sir!" The taller brunette replied, quickly pulling his hand away from Arnold's and looking at the ground.

"You go ahead to Na-Bon-Jovi's hut, okay buddy? I'll be right there," Arnold sort of pushed Kevin behind him, his protectiveness taking over. Arnold stalked over to his leader, trying to keep his cool and not scream at McKinley.

"Elder McKinley, if I may, what the heck is your problem? Don't think I don't see you staring at me and Kevin holding hands!" Arnold said, frowning. McKinley looked taken aback at the sudden outburst.

"Kevin is mine, okay?" Arnold stated, leaving no room for argument.

"O-Oh!" McKinley finally caught on to Arnold's offended speech. "No, I'm not jealous of you, or Kevin for that matter! I guess I'm just jealous of the relationship you two share, I guess? I mean, when I came out to my parents, they kicked me out and I haven't talked to them since. It's been five years since I've 'turned it off', and just seeing you two together makes me think of everything I could've had but didn't. Sorry for giving you the thought that I was jealous or you two weren't welcome... or anything," muttered McKinley, looking down before pulling himself back together. About halfway through the story Arnold's face had softened, and now he pulled the unsuspecting leader into a tight hug.

"Aw, it's okay. Sorry I made assumptions. And you'll find love someday, you know that?" Arnold said, smiling at McKinley.

"Thank you, Elder Cunningham," McKinley said, the regular formality returning to his voice. Arnold could practically see the district leader putting himself back together into the leader he was born as.

"You know, you're a great district leader, but you're also a great friend. Those two things don't really happened really often," said Arnold, smiling.

"Yes, yes, thank you, thank you, go get back to your boyfriend," smirked McKinley.

"Yes, sir!" Arnold said, beaming.

Jogging to catch up to his companion, Arnold came up at hugged Kevin from behind. 

"Heyyyy, honey bunches of oats with almonds sprinkled lightly on the top," cooed Arnold.

"Arnold, what?"

"I don't know, I haven't exactly flirted with anyone before!" Arnold replied, defending himself. This earned a smile from the taller Mormon. Heavenly Father, Arnold loved that smile. It was like Kevin had captured the entire universe into one facial feature. Arnold let go of Kevin's middle and started walking beside him, taking his hand and swinging them. Arnold's eyes never left Kevin's face.

"... Uh, Arnold? You okay?" Kevin asked, wondering why his pal was looked at him like he was Heavenly Father himself.

"Yeah, I just love you a lot."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops sorry McPriceley shippers:))))) I promise I love me some Connor too ok


	9. The Letter

It was a hot Ugandan afternoon. Like really hot. The kind of hot that made your clothes stick to your body, that made stepping outside feel like you just walked into an oven and you couldn't spend two minutes there without feeling like you couldn't breathe. Every single missionary was sweating to some degree, and most of them had opted to stay inside that morning and hydrate excessively before going out and attempting to convert the villagers. Kevin had just downed two large glasses of water, and was feeling a little sick from the overload of liquid in his stomach. He thought it would be a good idea to rest a little while before going to get his companion, and settled down on the couch in the common room.

About an hour later, Elder Pop Tarts and Elder Church were still playing small games such as rock, paper, scissors, and checkers that they had set up on the small table in front of them. Occasionally, there were murmurs and exclamations of "cheater" and "okay, that's just wrong", that were quieted immediately afterward because the two knew that Kevin was trying to rest his eyes. And Kevin thought, with a bit of a smirk, that Elder Pop Tarts sure did know how to beat the living crap out of you in either game. He would have to have Elder Pop Tarts on his team during game night.

As it was around ten thirty now, Kevin decided to check up on his companion, since he hadn't seen the smaller Mormon all morning.

Arnold was sitting on the bed, uncharacteristically quiet. Kevin knew something was up when Arnold hadn't come out to join in on the game of rock, paper, scissors. That was his favorite. Kevin scanned the room and his companion, looking for something that might be out of place that could've caused the unusual behavior of his pal. And that's when he saw it. An unopened letter sitting atop the nightstand. Kevin surmised that Arnold had put it there and hadn't opened it because it was from his family.

Kevin knew Arnold's family, since he had saw their reactions when they were about to get on the plane to Uganda. "Be more like Kevin," they had said. "I wish we had a son like him," they longed. "Instead of a disappointment like you." This statement was what really set Kevin off on the plane ride. To Arnold, it might of looked like your classic mission anxiety, but this was different. Kevin had spent the entire trip to Africa reflecting on his companion's reprimands. No wonder Arnold hadn't opened that letter yet.

Arnold turned to the nightstand and hesitantly picked up the letter. Kevin automatically moved out of Arnold's line of sight, since it would be kind of awkward if he just looked up and saw Kevin staring at his reaction to his letter. 

Turning the letter over in his hands, Arnold set in down again, this time next to him on the bed. Kevin could see him taking in shaky breaths, and Kevin wondered if he should intervene. He eventually decided against it, thinking it should be something that Arnold had to do on his own. That didn't make it any less painful to sit there and watch his companion (and boyfriend) struggle with his emotions like this.

Arnold picked up the letter once again and started to open it. He pulled out the contents: a simple cream-colored piece of paper with cursive handwriting. Must be from his mother, she had written a cursive note and stuck it in Arnold's backpack before they left for Uganda. Kevin never asked about it, and Arnold never shared.

Kevin watched as his pal's expression changed from nervous, to apprehensive, to sad, to slightly angry. Arnold would never be angry at his parents, however. He was always angry with himself.

Arnold stood up, breathing even more forced, and walked to the small dresser that the two kept their missionary clothes in. There was a small picture of Kevin and his family beside the one of Arnold and his. Arnold's breath seemed to hitch at the thought of his family picture and, in a fit of anger, smacked it onto the ground. The frame shattered, and Arnold stepped back at his outburst. He didn't know how strong he was.

Kevin took the opportunity to step in before Arnold hurt himself with his underestimated strength.

"Arnold? Are you alright, pal?" Kevin said softly, slowly walking forward as if approaching a scared animal.

Arnold looked up, eyes widening and tears starting to stream down his face.

"K-Kevin?" Arnold stumbled. "Why are you here? You shouldn't be here, you shouldn't have to deal with this, I'm just a screw up, you shouldn't be stuck-" he tried.

Kevin shut him up with a kiss. Pulling away, he wiped the tears off of Arnold's face with his thumb. 

"Arnold, of course I'm not stuck with you. I love you, and I'm gonna be here forever. So, what's going on? What was in that letter?" Kevin opened his arms to his companion. His face was a mixture of love and concern, and Arnold melted into his embrace.

"Oh, you know, j-just the usual 'disappointment', 'failure', 'stuck with you' kind of thing. It's really nothing I should be surprised about."

"Well, it's really nothing you deserve. You're the best, most caring person I know," Kevin held his boyfriend tighter, and felt Arnold's breathing finally calm down. 

"S-sorry about the mess," Arnold said, looking over at the shattered picture.

"Listen to me. It's fine, I'll clean it up later. And don't, please don't, listen to anything your parents have to say about you. You are so much better than that," assured the taller elder, giving Arnold another small kiss. "Now, let's go get some pop tarts, I'm sure Elder Thomas always saves some for emergencies."

The two walked out of their room, greeted with smiles and small greetings from the other missionaries.

"Hey, Elder Pop Tarts?" Kevin asked, walking up to the elder who was still engaged with a game of patty cake with Elder Church.

"Yeah, what's up Kevin?" Elder Pop Tarts replied. Everyone at the hut had learned to call Elder Price by his first name ever since Kevin had told them that the old Elder Price had been gone for a very long time. He knew he was still arrogant and shallow sometimes, but the elders had come to know that he really had changed.

"You have any pop tarts left?"

Elder Pop Tarts took one look at Arnold's tear-stained face and raced off to his room. He returned with an entire box of cinnamon brown sugar pop tarts. After handing Arnold one, he sat down on the couch and gathered the other elders over to the common room. 

The group spent the rest of the night complimenting and supporting Arnold until he was red in the face. Multiple times.


	10. Man Up

Arnold Cunningham had recently made up his mind to tell Nabulungi about his relationship with Kevin. Even though the taller brunette was very anxious about the meeting because 'Uganda is one of the most homophobic countries ever, Arnold!' It was almost like Kevin had forgotten that Naba had been the one who convinced Kevin to go after Arnold and confess his feelings towards the smaller elder. However, Arnold didn't seem phased by his boyfriend's warning, and told Kevin that they would go to Naba's hut after breakfast. 

Kevin was making his now-routine cup of coffee in the small kitchen when Arnold came up and squeezed him from behind. Kevin jumped and almost knocked his mug off of the counter.

"Arnold! You know I don't like surprises," said Kevin, heart still racing from the small scare. Surprises had never been very kind to Kevin, but that was a story for another time. 

"Sorry, buddy," replied Arnold, still sticking with the pet name that he had said since the very beginning. 

"But seriously, we need to go right after breakfast before it gets too hot," Arnold pointed out, removing himself from around Kevin's middle.

"Arnold, it's literally six thirty in the morning. I think Naba hearing our confession for our undying love for each other can wait a few minutes while I drink my coffee," Kevin snapped, before feeling guilty. Arnold was just trying to help; he knew that now. Elder Price, the perfect Mormon, wasn't used to being helped. He wasn't sure if he ever would be. 

"Look, Arnold, I'm sorry. You know how I get in the mornings," apologized Kevin.

"It's totally fine! Here, I'll sit with you while you drink your coffee. How did you get into that stuff, anyway?"

Kevin shifted, suddenly uncomfortable in his seat. 

"Well, you know, after the whole 'incident' with the General, I kind of lost all of my hope, I guess? I mean, I know it sounds awful, but I had, and still have, complete doubt that Heavenly Father exists sometimes," Kevin said, groaned, and put his hands over his face in embarrassment. "Oh gosh, what kind of Mormon would say that?"

"A human one."

Arnold gently pulled Kevin's hands away from his face.

"Honey, you have to stop holding these completely unrealistic expectations for yourself. I know that you wanted to do something incredible, but we have to take it one step at a time, and not overwork ourselves. This is how you worked yourself into that panic attack, and I would love to never see you that scared again. I love you, and we're in this together."

Despite the kind words of his boyfriend, Kevin was skeptical. He'd been told to work for Heavenly Father until he couldn't anymore, and old habits die hard. 

"How would you know about being a bad Mormon? Like, really bad? I mean, I know you don't stick to the rules all the time, but to doubt Heavenly Father Himself exists? You've done nothing that compares to even the thought."

"Kevin, I've never actually read the Book of Mormon."

Kevin's head snapped up, and Arnold silently wondered if Kevin had broken something in his neck at that reaction. Kevin nearly spit out his mouthful of coffee at the same time.

"You what?"

"You heard me," Arnold smiled sheepishly. "Now, come on! You finished your coffee, let's go see Netflix," he prompted, taking the empty mug from Kevin's hands, who was still frozen in shock.

Arnold led Kevin all the way to Nabulungi's hut, the taller elder becoming more and more fidgety as they approached it.

"Didn't you talk to her that night you ran away? I really don't understand why you're so nervous," Arnold said, looking back at Kevin. 

"I told you that I don't like surprises. What if she kicks us out of her house? What if she kicks us out of Uganda? What then?"

Arnold stopped walking to cup Kevin's face in his hands and hopefully bring him out of this state of mind.

"Hey. She's not going to kick us out of anywhere. She's the nicest person we've ever met outside of the church, you have nothing to worry about," Arnold reassured as he felt Kevin physically relax because of his touch. He reached down to lace their fingers together once more. 

Soon, they were standing on the doorstep. Arnold still had the habit of searching for a doorbell, even if he had the common sense to know that there were none since the plane landed in the Ugandan heat. This earned a small smile and shake of his head from Kevin, who simply knocked three times on the door. Naba opened the door almost immediately, smiley and optimistic as always. 

"Hello, Elder Price and Elder Cunningham!" Naba greeted, smile growing impossibly wider. "What are you doing here?"

"Nutella, we have something to tell you," started Arnold. Kevin tensed up again, but loosened up slightly as he felt Arnold squeeze his hand.

Nabulungi smirked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes?"

"We're, um, you see," Arnold tried to say, underestimating his nervousness about the entire situation.

"We're dating," Kevin specified, ending Arnold's rather pitiful attempt at an explanation. Kevin suddenly stepped back, as if expecting a violent reaction from the girl. Arnold would have remind himself to ask him about it later.

"Ha! I knew it! Hold on, I need to go find someone," Naba exclaimed, and all but ran past the two and went to Gotswana's hut.

The couple could only watch as she opened the door and yelled, "You owe me! They're dating! I told you so!" and Gotswana smiled, sighed, then handed her the required amount of money.

Naba returned to her hut and looked happily at the two stunned elders.

"You- you bet on us becoming a couple?" Kevin asked, completely confused, but somehow a little flattered that she had so much faith in their relationship.

"You mean, who didn't bet on you two? That was the most awkward, what do you call it, pining I've ever seen in my life!"

After a few minutes of banter had been exchanged between the four, Kevin and Arnold realized it was time to return to the hut since it was their job today to prepare lunch. 

Once they got back, they both peered into the cupboard. Huh. I guess Elder Zelder and Elder Church would need to go to the market tomorrow, since the only things that could be made for a large group of people were off-brand Ramen noodles and Easy Mac. The two decided the latter would be better. I mean, who didn't love tiny noodles and powdered cheese?


	11. Introspection

Since Arnold had decided to switch places with Elder Church to go the market. His excuse was, "I want to know what I'm eating, Kevin, and not just have someone prepare meals. I wanna do something to contribute to the District!"

After a solid ten minutes of trying to convince Arnold, Kevin finally accepted that this was a battle that could not be won. He did know he was being exceptionally clingy, but he tried to hold himself back from actively seeking the comfort that he could rely on Arnold to produce. Kevin still thought he was arrogant, and he still wasn't used to receiving help. Especially from his mission companion (and significant other). However, deep down inside Kevin Price really did appreciate the gentle touches and light kisses that Arnold would give him. He'd never really gotten any of that sort of affection when he was younger, and now he craved what he didn't know what he was missing.

Elder Church walked to the small dining table that Kevin was sitting on, resting a hand on the latter brunette's shoulder.

"You okay there, Elder Price?"

"Oh, yes, absolutely," replied Kevin with a smile too bright, not wanting to share his thoughts about his childhood with a man he barely knew. 

"Alright, well I'll be with Elders Pop Tarts in the common room if you need anything," said Elder Church, flashing the other missionary a small smile before bouncing off to find his friend. Kevin heard the two starting a game of Candy Land that Elder Pop Tarts had somehow managed to pack in his small suitcase. Kevin reminded himself that he would have to 'accidentally' lock the two in a closet sometime and see what happens.

Kevin then headed off to his room, not really feeling like particularly interacting with anyone at the very moment. He made his bed, folded his clothes, took a shower, and then sat down on the bed again, needing some time to himself.

Elder Price was a very introspective person. Even though he almost never showed it, he was always catching himself staying up in the early hours of the morning thinking about his purpose on this mission, and even this life. Morbid, yes, and slightly self-centered, absolutely, but Kevin's mind had always been known to be far from the optimistic view of life. This is why he plastered on a smile, however fake, every single day. Kevin knew that if he could convince himself of said optimism that it would rub off on everyone around him. 

This brought Kevin to the time in his life where he solidified the fact that he hated surprises. The first time he had been generally surprised what not a very happy situation. The first time he had learned to 'turn it off' in his own way. It was the reason that Kevin had taken so long to figure out his sexuality. The first time he had learned to fear the unknown.

 

"Family meeting!" Kevin's mother had called from the living room. Kevin was in his room upstairs, and was close to rolling his eyes when he heard the announcement. Family meetings were either completely unnecessary or altogether too long, even if it did happen to be a legitimate reason. 

On the way down the staircase, Kevin ran into his younger brother Jack. Although he was only two years younger than him, Jack was already much more devout than him at the age of fourteen than Kevin had ever been. He was secretly jealous of him for that, and although he loved Jack, sometimes he felt like he had to push himself (too hard at times) to make sure that he was the exemplary Mormon child.

"Kevin, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what's up?" 

This was weird. Jack almost never asked Kevin's permission to talk about a subject. This worried Kevin, and he was even more concerned when Jack actually looked nervous.

"I need you to promise me something," Jack started.

"Anything." 

Kevin's heart was beating out of his chest, they were never really open with each other about their feelings, and being the 'perfect Mormon family' never allowed them to bond like that, since they were always inundated in verses and studies. But this was a time that Kevin knew he needed to be there for his brother. He could feel it.

Jack's breaths were uneven and he seemed to struggle to stay calm. This was very unusual, and it made Kevin's chest tighten. He hated seeing the people he loved so anxious around him.

"Promise me that whatever goes down in this family meeting, you'll still be there. I love you, brother, and I don't think I could stand losing you. Promise you won't stop loving me," Jack pleaded, desperation and fear swimming in his eyes.

"Of course, I'll always be there for you," Kevin said, taking another step down the stairs (it was an uncomfortable height difference) and pulled his younger brother into an embrace.

Jack was the first to pull away, cracking a signature Price Smile before heading back to the living room. Kevin followed shortly after, only allowing himself a couple seconds to imagine why that promise had to be made before the meeting.

Elder Church and Pop Tarts were unknowingly standing just beyond the doorway of Elder Price and Elder Cunningham's room, glancing sideways at each other. They were trying to determine whether to break Kevin out of his trance-like state or not to ask the brunette to play Monopoly. It was Disney themed.

"What do we do?" Whispered Elder Church to the smaller missionary.

"I don't know! He looks really sad, and I don't how to fix it," responded the blonde. "I hate seeing anyone like! What are we supposed to do, Elder Church?" 

"James."

"Wait, what?"

"Call me James, first of all. And secondly, do you have any extra pop tarts?"

"Of course," Pop Tarts looked almost offended at the thought of someone doubting his supply of his favorite treat, "and call me Chris."

The two stood in front of the cupboard.

"He looks like a-" said Chris as he stared at a box of the sugary pastry.

"You're right. Definitely the way to go."

The living room was already prepared for the infamous family meeting, complete with an anxious-looking Mama Price and Mr. Price looking ever-unemotional. The two chairs were turned more so towards the couch, and Jack sat down on one of them, and Kevin took the other. Kevin had always hated the awkward way that everyone would be facing each other; it made important decisions and announcements even more daunting.

"Well, Jack honey, what is it that you would like to tell us?" Kevin's mother had asked, giving him a half smile in an attempt to defuse the obvious tension in the room.

"Well, Mom, Dad, I have something that I've known for about two months now, and it's only fair that you are the first people to know."

Mr. Price still seemed indifferent, while their mother looked confused.

"I'm gay."

Two mouths opened wide in shock, and Mr. Price simply got up and walked into the kitchen without a word.

Kevin nervously glanced at his mother, who still sat on the couch, expression still confused and eyebrows vaguely furrowed. 

"...Mom?" Jack ventured.

"I-I think that you should go talk to your father about this," was the reply.

Kevin gave him the best supportive smile he could conjure in his state of surprise. Jack tentatively walked into the kitchen, not knowing what to expect given their father's reaction.

"Dad, I-" 

Smack.

That was the last thing Kevin heard before bolting into the kitchen to see what had happened. Jack was holding his cheek with his hand, which had started to turn red with the skin-on-skin contact. He was frozen in place, and looked helplessly dazed before Kevin grabbed his hand and all but pulled him upstairs to his room.

This was the time when Kevin Price had held his brother long after the tears had stopped flowing.

This was the time when Kevin Price had automatically decided that he hated surprises.

Kevin was brought out of the depressing memory by a rectangular silver package landed on his lap. He picked it up and it was labeled 'Chocolate Chip.' The culprit behind the package was standing in the doorway, Elder Church behind him.

"E-Elder Pop Tarts and Elder Church! What are you doing here?" Kevin asked, trying to put together why the duo was in his room when they had been playing Candy Land just a few minutes ago.

"Well, you see, we were going to see if you'd like to play with us, it was Disney Monopoly and we," stumbled the shorter of the two. "-we saw you sitting on the bed looking kind of stressed, and so we brought you a feel-better gift, since, you know," Pop Tarts gestured to Kevin's eyes. 

Kevin was confused until he felt his face. Oh. He was crying.

"Um, yeah, I-I'll play, sure," Kevin gave a watery smile and stood up.

The three elders sat in the common room and played Monopoly for hours, pop tarts in hand and genuine smiles on their face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!! Thank you so much for all the love on this story. Also, a future recommendation, don't have a horror movie marathon until four in the morning.  I'm running on two hours of sleep here, and constantly paranoid that someone's in my closet (cough cough churchtarts)!!!!! Have a great day:))))))


	12. Promise

Arnold and Elder Zelder returned to the hut later that night, walking in to see the three still bickering over who owned what properties in that gosh darn game of Monopoly. Arnold was the one who noticed the pop tart wrappers carelessly strewn about the floor by their neat stacks of game money. Arnold grabbed a surprised Elder Zelder by the arm and pulled them into one of the small bedrooms. 

"Elder Zelder, did you see that?"

This made the man's face twist in confusion.

"See what?"

Arnold resisted the urge to roll his eyes, and wondered if the world was always this unable to notice concerning behavior.

"The pop tart wrappers! They were everywhere! Do you know what that means? There's almost never pop tarts shared among the elders-"

Elder Zelder had a look of realization written all over his face.

"-Unless there's a crisis!" Zelder finished.

"Exactly. That's why I'm freaking out! What if it's Kevin again? What if-"

"Woah, Elder Cunningham. Slow down. He's your boyfriend, right? Can't you just ask him yourself?"

Arnold seemed to consider the thought of approaching his boyfriend about the subject.

"I guess you're right."

Arnold suddenly looked up at Elder Zelder, slight panic in his eyes.

"Wait, how did you know we were dating?"

"Well, you two don't have exactly the most subtle of secret relationships. I think the entire District 9 has you guys figured out by now," explained Elder Zelder.

"...Oh. Well, thanks for the advice, bye!" Arnold rushed, quickly walking over to interrupt the game that was still being played.

"Hey elders! How was the trip to the market?" Elder Church asked, smiling up from his position on the floor.

"Wonderful! There was even this little place that sold donuts!"

Kevin made a face at the comment. Arnold would be sure to ask him about that later.

"Hey Kevin, buddy, can we talk?" Arnold suddenly asked, not exactly graceful about broaching touchy subjects.

"Sure, is something wrong?" Kevin responded, concern filling his dark brown eyes.

Arnold mentally face-palmed. Of course he would give Kevin the impression that something was off with Arnold, instead of the other way around.

"You see, here's the thing. I... don't know yet," Arnold replied. What was he supposed to say? Hey Kevin, I noticed you have a habit of talking yourself into panic attacks, and there's suspicious-looking pop tarts on the floor, are you okay right now? Absolutely not.

The thought of what to say was cut short by Elder Zelder awkwardly clearing his throat and stating that he was going to retreat to his room with Elder Michaels. Heavenly Father knows just how many of the elders in District 9 were actually straight.

"Well, guys, thanks for a great night of fake money and unnecessary 'get out of jail free' cards, I'll be going to bed now," said Kevin.

The two elders remaining on the floor smirked at each other. Kevin blushed, and bit back either a sarcastic remark or an attempt at trying to cover his tracks.

"Good night!" Arnold beamed, shamelessly taking Kevin's hand and nearly skipping off to their room.

Once the door was shut, Kevin pulled Arnold into a kiss, soft and sweet. Kevin made sure to let Arnold know just how much he loved him tonight. After a few minutes of gentle kissing, Arnold pulled away with a concerned expression.

"What's going on with you? I mean, not that I'm not enjoying touchy-feely Kevin, but is everything alright? This isn't how you normally act, and don't think I didn't see the pop tarts on the floor."

Kevin sighed and averted his gaze so he was now looking at the floor.

"It's fine," the taller boy tried to insist, but his eyes told a different story.

"Hey. Talk to me. Was it about the donut thing?"

Kevin looked surprised that Arnold had picked up on the offhand comments and expressions Kevin so often made. He was beginning to realize that he couldn't keep anything from his companion, who just wanted to see him happy. 

"Kind of," was the response, mumbled into his shirt because Kevin had made the decision to be as close as possible to Arnold, snuggling up to his neck.

"Honey, you have to trust me. I love you, and I think you know that. I just want you to know that you can tell me anything and I won't judge you," Arnold spoke softly, afraid any misstep and Kevin would break down completely.

"I lied," Kevin said, and Arnold almost missed it because it was so quiet.

"About?"

"Eating a donut. With a maple glaze,"

Wait. There had to be more about this then eating a donut and then lying about it.

"And I blamed it on my brother Jack." Kevin thought he could fall into an actual pit of shame at these words. Every single wrongdoing he'd performed against his brother made him feel more and more awful. His brother didn't need him doing anything to him; the parent situation was already enough. Kevin had always been plagued with guilt about what he'd done to his brother, simply because Jack had been through so much already, and Kevin hadn't helped him much in the process.

Kevin took a shaky breath and tried to explain these built up feelings that had been stirring inside himself for years.

"I'm just like them, Arnold."

Kevin wasn't crying. He didn't think he could cry any more over what he'd already had a meltdown over earlier in the day.

"What? Kevin, please help me understand. I don't understand."

"I'm just like my parents! How could I do that to him! I wasn't there, I wasn't there, I wasn't there," rambled the brunette, clearly not thinking straight.

"Kevin!" Arnold said more forcefully, pushing the taller Mormon out of his death grip on Arnold and making him look into his eyes.

"Look, I don't know what this is about, but you have to explain better, sweetie. I know it's hard, but you have to try," he continued.

"Jack. My brother. He-I, I wasn't, they weren't, I wasn't," Kevin stuttered. "Arnold, I can't do this tonight. Please."

Kevin said this with such sincerity and sadness that Arnold gave in immediately.

"Okay. But we're definitely talking about Jack later, alright? And don't forget I have to show you Star Wars!" Arnold said, trying to somewhat lighten the mood. This earned a smile from Kevin. Arnold was proud.

"Arnold, I need you to promise me something," Kevin ventured. As soon as the words left his mouth, Kevin was struck with a sense of déjà vu so incredibly powerful that it was almost nauseating. 

"Of course."

"Promise me that whatever happens, you'll still be there. I love you and I don't think I could stand losing you. Promise you won't stop loving me, " Kevin spoke, and now he was sure he was crying.

 

"Oh, Kevin. I think it would be physically impossible to stop loving you," assured the curly-haired missionary, kissing Kevin's forehead. Kevin fell asleep to the comforting sensation of Arnold running his fingers through his hair, knowing that everything would be okay.


	13. Spreading the Word

Arnold Cunningham certainly did enjoy waking up to the lovely sight of Kevin Price.  From his bed-head, to his sleepy expression, to the way his voice dropped because it was still tinged with sleep, Arnold was completely in love.  So he had no problem expressing such thoughts at promptly six thirty in the morning.

"Kevin! Kevin, guess what?"

"What is it, Arnold?" came the reply from the taller elder.  Arnold knew that Kevin had never really been a morning person, and he was determined to make him one.

"If I said 'guess what' that means you're supposed to guess, silly," Arnold replied, bouncing slightly on his bed.  The two had rearranged the beds so that they would now be sleeping right next to each other.

Kevin groaned.

"Why do you torture me like this in the early hours of the morning?"

"I'm trying to make you a morning person! Look at Elder Pop Tarts and Elder Church! Even if they're not official  yet, you see them snuggling on the couch eating breakfast together every morning!"

"You're comparing apples to oranges here, we're not those two, we're definitely cuter!"

This earned a giggle from the smaller missionary.

"You got me there. But seriously, Kevin, you gotta guess sometime, or I'm not going to stop bothering you for the rest of the day!" Arnold singsonged.

"Okay, fine. I guess: you had a dream about a world where hobbits and Dearth Vader lived together in peace and harmony. Again."

"Nope!"

"You 'accidentally' stole one of Pop Tarts's boxes of said snacks, then spied on him and Elder Church to see if they would hook up while Church bought him another box of pop tarts?" Kevin attempted to guess again.

"No! That's definitely a good idea, though, I'll have to try it sometime. Thirteen out of ten, would recommend!"

"I'm running out of ideas, Arnold," sighed Kevin.  "Let's see, was there a giant spider in McKinley's room and he screamed and you had to go kill it for him? Oh, wait, you would've been screaming too, never mind."  Kevin's sarcasm always got the best of him in the mornings and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it.

"Wrong again, buddy. Do you want me to just tell you?"

"Please," said Kevin, tainting his voice with exasperation.

"I love you."

The simple words never failed to get at least a small smile to pull at the edges of Kevin's lips. Kevin finally got out of bed to give Arnold a peck on the lips.

"Love you too. But now I guess we have to get ready for the day, huh?"

And all was well in Arnold's world, because he had found a way to get his boyfriend to wake up in the mornings.

After a morning full of showers (Kevin had a wonderful singing voice, by the way), Fruit Loops and Cocoa Puffs, and jokes about McKinley's accomplishment of actually getting the elders of District 9 to tap dance, the missionaries were off to a day of proselytizing.

Arnold tugged on Kevin's hand, leading him to the group of villagers that they had somehow convinced to listen to them, with the help of Naba.  Somewhere along the line, the subject of Americans never having the hardship of AIDS came up.  And, true to his father's less-than-kind statement, Arnold did have a habit of making things up when he didn't know what else to say.

"Well, they had even worse AIDS!" Arnold blurted.

"Really?"

Arnold went on to explain that yes, Mormons had AIDS, and that the only cure was by sleeping, not with a virgin, but with a frog.  One of his final 'sermons' was that women's circumcision was a crime because Jesus would have you turned into a frog by Boba Fett.  

Kevin was to shocked to say anything during the entire exchange.  I mean, mixing Mormon beliefs with Star Wars? Not exactly the first thing Kevin thought he would be doing when he got to his mission location.  However, since a lot of introspection had recently taken place, Kevin decided to push away his doubts and try to go along with Arnold's idea.  He needed to talk to the shorter elder first, though.

"Arnold!" Kevin hissed, pulling his companion over behind a tree so the Ugandans wouldn't be eavesdropping on the conversation.

"Yeah, honey?"

"What the heck are you doing? I mean, it's a good idea to get them to believe this stuff, but we're adding complete lies to the Book of Mormon! It's a lie! Do you really think we can pull this off?"

Arnold's face fell.  He always knew he was a bit of a compulsive liar, but he just thought if he could get the villagers to believe in something, he'd have to make it a lot more interesting than it was originally.

"Sorry, Kevin, I just thought it'd be the best way to get them to actually believe in something, you know?" Arnold said, looking close to tears.

Kevin saw this and immediately pulled his boyfriend into a tight hug.  Kevin wasn't usually the one to initiate gestures of comfort, so this new relationship was bringing the two closer than ever.

"Okay, you're right. But if we're going to pull this off, we're going to have to do this together."

"Together," was the echoed reply from the curly-haired Mormon, standing on his toes to give Kevin a small, sweet kiss.

The two walked out from behind their hiding spot, glancing at each other before continuing to speak to the Ugandans.

"Alright, everybody!" Kevin said, clapping his together once to emphasize his excitement.  "Tomorrow we're going to have more lessons ready to tell you guys, but for now, we have to organize our lesson plans. We'll definitely see you tomorrow, same time and place?"

 

There were murmurs of agreement from around the clearing that they had chosen to meet in.  It was a nice place, there were a few benches, trees to provide shade, and even a small river that ran beside the village.

Before they left, the elders were stopped by a very cheerful Naba.

"Thank you, elders! You have given us so much to be grateful for, and most of all, you have us all hope!"

Arnold smiled, looking up at Kevin.

"Well, we couldn't have done it without you! See you tomorrow, Nestle Crunch!"

Kevin sighed, and Naba skipped away.

Kevin and Arnold nearly ran the way back to the missionary hut, nervous but genuinely eager about getting the Africans to take interest in the Book.

"Elder McKinley! Elder McKinley!" Arnold almost shouted, startling some of the elder who had decided to take a break from the heat in the kitchen.

Elder McKinley emerged from his room, looking slightly sleep-deprived.  Hell dreams really did take a toll on you after almost ten years.

"What is it, Elder Cunningham?"

"We got the villagers to listen about the Book! They were really excited about how much they can relate to it, and they're expecting us to go meet them again tomorrow!"

"That's wonderful news! And even better, the Mission President has let us know that he's coming here to evaluate our progress, or lack thereof!" McKinley laughed, albeit a little nervously.

"However," Kevin started.  He was sure that he would have to tread lightly around the situation that they essentially lied about the content of the Book, and that was reason that the Ugandans had chosen to listen to them.  "We may have, um, stretched the truth about the stories about Mormonism," he finished, the statement sounding more like a question.

"Kevin. Arnold. It doesn't matter what we do to convert these villagers, it just matters that have been converted before the President comes," McKinley assured them.  Oh boy, he had no idea what he was getting himself into.  

After a rather creative dinner of pasta with (fresh?) vegetables and goat meat (provided by Naba, of course), Arnold and Kevin wanted to avoid Dinner Duty, which consisted of washing all the dishes and preparing breakfast the next morning, and told the other missionaries they had to prepare the lessons for tomorrow.

Kevin took up the job of writing down Arnold's ramblings of tying Star Wars and other pop culture movies and such into the Book of Mormon.  Within two hours, they had about five pages of stories that they could preach to the villagers.  Their session was cut short by Kevin allowing a yawn to escape his mouth.  Arnold saw this and came over to take the stack of papers from Kevin's hands, and led him back to their beds.

"Arnold?" Kevin suddenly spoke up, looking a bit embarrassed.

"Yeah, what's up buddy?"

"Um, do you think we could, um, cuddle?"

This brought a wide grin to Arnold's face, surprised at the unexpected request.  He then snuggled up right against Kevin's side, wrapping his arms around the taller brunette.

"Love you Kevin," Arnold mumbled after a while of nuzzling his face into Kevin's neck.

Kevin had already fallen asleep.


	14. Eggs and Explanations

All elders of District 9 knew that making breakfast in the morning after cleaning the dishes was an unspoken rule.  Kevin and Arnold, however, took this rule to new lengths.

"Arnold! Can you hand me those eggs?" Kevin said, not looking up from the pan he was currently trying to spray off-brand Pam onto (and miserably failing while getting grease all over his hands).

"Hey, pal? Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"Of course I do! I consider myself a well-rounded chef and a master of making omelettes!" snapped the brunette, just now managing to coat more of the pan rather than his fingers.

And in fact, Kevin was quite adept at cooking, breakfast especially.  He used to make breakfast  every single day for his brother after the incident.  He tried to do as much as possible to make up for what time he had mistreated or lost with Jack.  He also always took pride in the way Jack's face would light up to a morning of pancakes, bacon, and orange juice.  Hm.  Maybe this was how Kevin got to be so arrogant.

Kevin shook the thoughts of his brother out of his head and took the egg from Arnold before cracking it into the pan.

"Spinach?"

"Cheese?"

"Um," Kevin snapped his fingers in an attempt to remember the next addition to the egg.  "Oh! Green pepper!"

Arnold scurried around the tiny kitchen, eager to fill any ingredient request made by his boyfriend.

Around ten minutes later, the last ingredient had been added to the dish, and Kevin stood proudly in front of his masterpiece.  Arnold came up and squeezed him from behind, burying his face into the back of Kevin's shoulder.

"You should cook more often. It's like you're in your element or something," Arnold suggested, muffled by Kevin's shirt.  Kevin beamed.

Soon the other elders were shuffling into the kitchen with sleepy eyes and slow movements. Elder McKinley looked unusually exhausted, though.

"Morning everyone! On today's menu is a spinach, pepper, and cheese omelette! Serve yourselves!" Arnold greeted, passing out plates to the others before plopping an omelette onto his plate.

Once everyone was seated, there was little to no conversation.  Not for lack of enthusiasm, but for the fact that everyone was stuffing their face with Kevin's creation.

"Not to, like, ruin the fun or whatever, but where on Heavenly Father's earth did you get all of these things! It must've cost a fortune!" exclaimed Elder Neeley.

"Well, Elder Kimbay provided the eggs and spinach, Naba had some cheese that she said we could have, but we're saving her an omelette in return," Kevin said, pointing to the lone omelette on a plate next to the stove, "and then we just kind of finessed some peppers out of the General's garden."  

Ever since they had started to write the Book of Arnold, a collection of tales that Arnold had put together involving both pop culture and Mormon references, the village had taken to the tradition of calling each other 'elder'.  This was after almost every single person had been baptized.

And yet, Kevin was still very uncomfortable at the situation of him and Arnold sneaking into the General's camp to sneak some green peppers out of his small garden.  Arnold laid a comforting hand on Kevin's knee, and McKinley noticed the tension in Kevin's expression at the mention of the General.

"However you did end up getting these absolutely amazing  delicacies for us, Elder Price, just know that we are very appreciative of your culinary skills," reassured the red-headed leader while shooting a look at Elder Neeley.

"Thank you, Elder McKinley," Kevin smiled.

The afternoon was spent reading more 'scripture' to the people of Kitguli.  The new pages of the Book of Arnold included many Star Trek references, and Kevin had no idea why.  He walked up to Elder McKinley, who was sitting with Kimbay and Gotswana.

"Why does Arnold have to put so many Star Trek references in the Book? I mean, I understand once or twice, but three whole chapters? Dedicated to Kirk and Spock? Really?" Kevin questioned.

The redheaded leader bit back a snort.

"You really don't watch anything besides Disney, do you?"

Kevin blushed, mumbling a small 'shut up'.

"You know what Elder Price, I've been thinking."

"Oh no Elder McKinley, isn't that dangerous?" Kevin asked with faux concern, putting a hand on McKinley's forehead. "Are you sick?"

McKinley rolled his eyes and batted his hand away.

"For the love of Heavenly Father, call me Connor. I thought we were on a first name basis now that the Book of Arnold had been established."

"Alright Connor,  so you've been thinking. Want to tell me what about before your brain overloads from all the thought process you've being going through over the past two minutes?"

This earned another one of Connor's signature 'District-Leader-will-cut-you-with-my-tap-dancing-skills' look.

"It's about Elder Church and Poptarts, well, James and Chris. Have you seen them lately?"

And Kevin had seen them.  Gosh, those two needed to get together before one of them had a mental breakdown from pining too much.  However, Kevin didn't really know where Connor was going with this.  Since they had technically left the LDS church, his feelings hadn't needed to be repressed.  Yet, old habits die hard.

"...Yes?" Kevin's response came out rather like a question.

"Thank gosh, so you know that they need to start dating right now." 

Kevin laughed and nodded. 

"Absolutely. So what're we going to do about it, exactly?"

"You know, game night's tomorrow. So..." Connor smirked.

"...So what?"

Connor rolled his eyes once more at Kevin's continuous cluelessness.

"So we rig Seven Minutes in Heaven and shove the two in the closet and don't let them out until they kiss," Connor stated, completely unashamed at his suggestion.

"Wow, someone was a party animal in high school," Kevin scoffed.

"Hey, well, not everyone can be as perfect of a Mormon as Kevin Price," Connor shot back.

"Touche."

"Are you in on it, though?"

"Hell yes," which earned a third look from Connor.  Kevin would have to keep track.  Kevin spotted his boyfriend talking to a small group of villagers, and nearly skipped off to tell Arnold the plan for tomorrow night's game.

The couple was sitting on a small bench by the river when it happened.  The new 'Mormons' had come over to sit by the riverside with the elders to be lectured on the importance of gay acceptance because "just like Kirk and Spock", everyone was to appreciate each other's sexuality.  Arnold had made this a very important rule in the Book of Arnold.

 

Kevin wasn't distracted up when Arnold slammed his book shut and sighed; Arnold did this all the time in their room, and he had learned to tune him out when he was revising verses.  Arnold put his arm around the taller elder and smiled.

"So, Kevin Price, how's Uganda's prettiest boy doing today?"

"I don't know, how are you?" was the reply, still not looking up from his book.


	15. Game Night

"Elders, fellow MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS!" Connor exclaimed, trying to get the residents of the mission hut to listen him.  Of he course the entire thing was put in air-quotes since they were no longer real members.  The entire hut had also conveniently forgotten that the mission president was due for a visit the next week. 

Everyone's head turned to look up at Connor from the pile of blankets and popcorn on the floor.

"Naba brought the good stuff."

Walking in as though this was scripted, Nabulungi waltzed in carrying a seemingly-innocent plastic bag.  She dumped the contents onto the small coffee table, revealing bottles of local... alcohol.

All of the former elders gaped at the drinks, still appalled at even the thought of drinking since it was in the strictures they had learned as children.

Connor was the first to try a sip.  He made a face, but swallowed it anyway.

"Connor? I didn't think you would be the first to do this," Arnold said from his spot on the floor, leaning on Kevin.

"Yeah, sometimes things at home aren't always perfect for a gay Mormon."

"I'm sorry, we didn't know," Kevin amended.

"No, you had no idea. It's fine now that I'm surrounded by all of you guys," Connor grinned.  "Now, who's ready to play Truth or Dare?"

Every hand shot up.

"Chris, you should come over here," Elder Church said and motioned to the spot next to him.

"Oh, th-that's not necessary! Right, Poptarts?" Kevin interjected while staring a bit too intensely at the missionary across from him in the circle.

"Alright, then, I'll just stay here," Poptarts said, clearly a little creeped out at Kevin's display.

"But first, come on you guys, it's a party game. Shots of whatever-the-heck-this-is all around," Arnold suggested jovially, always excited at an opportunity to break the rules.

Slowly and with much reassurance and nudging, all of the elders soon had some of the Ugandan drink in their systems.

"Elder Davis! I feel like you should start first," Arnold smirked.  He knew that all of the other boys were in on the idea to set up James and Chris.

"Hey, you guys know that I'm terrible at coming up with ideas for this," he said from his position with his back against the couch.  "Oh, wait! I've got one! Hey James, truth or dare?"

"Um, truth," he complied, unsure of the idea of this game at all.

"Do you like anyone, like like anyone? As in twelve out of ten kiss said person?" Davis questioned.

James blushed, but shook his head.

The other elders looked at each other, knowing they would have to try something a little more suggestive the next round.

A half an hour and another round of shots later, it was Elder Neeley's turn to ask.

"So, Poptarts, truth or dare? Please don't be boring, we've all ran out on questions to ask for truths."

"Well, then dare it is, I guess," Poptarts responded.

"I dare you," Elder Neeley pretended to contemplate a feasible dare. "to go have Seven Minutes in Heaven with James Church in the broom closet. And you can't back out; you're both outnumbered."

Both elders pretended not to notice the other's red cheeks as they sighed and stood up.  The pair walked to the small closet and allowed themselves to be locked in, resigned to the fact that they had been set up this whole time.

"Starting, now, Churchtarts! Seven minutes on the clock!" McKinley yelled.

Chris and James shuffled around awkwardly trying to separate themselves as much as possible in the cramped dark space.  Unfortunately, since it was pitch black, Poptarts had a rather ungraceful encounter with one of the mops and fell backward, instinctively grabbing the other elder and pulling him to the ground with him.

"Gosh dang, you two! Getting it on already!" Arnold catcalled from the living room.

Poptarts huffed a laugh at the joke.

 

 

"Sorry for making you fall too," the blond apologized, at a loss for things to say.

"The mop isn't the first thing I've fallen for this week," James said, surprising himself at his forwardness.

"You, um, I mean, w-what?" Poptarts stuttered.

"You eat chocolate poptarts when you're sad, blueberry when you're happy, and cinnamon brown sugar when you get a letter from home, most likely because of how you told me your parents blame you for not being there for your sister. Oh, and you save the strawberry ones for her birthday, because you always remember those were her favorite. I don't know where the hell you get all of those poptarts, but I do know that I've been in love with you for a good three months, and just too scared to tell you," James admitted, looking away even though his blush was hidden in the darkness.

"J-James?" Poptarts asked softly.

"That's fine, just reject me now so I'll have plenty of time to get over it," said James.  He already regretted his confession.

"I th-think I'm in love with you too."

Both hands tried to find each other's face in the dark of the broom closet, fumbling awkwardly for awhile.  But soon they were pressing their lips together in a sweet chaste kiss that felt as though the world outside of them never existed in the first place.

"H-Hey guys?" Poptarts called.

"What is it, pastry boy?" Connor teased.

"I don't think that a full seven minutes is really mandatory i-if we've already k-kissed," explained the shorter boy.

"Well it's about time!" Kevin exclaimed, unlocking the door.

The rest of the night consisted of Naba accidentally giving Elder Davis a little too much to drink, Apples to Apples, and the three movies that they had: Mulan, Finding Nemo, and Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.  Of course, all were filled with singing, commentary, and Arnold's excessive explanations of the secret plot twists that come up later in the Star Wars series. 

About halfway through Nemo, when the small fish was being inducted into his new tank with chants of "Shark Bait, oo-ha-ha!", Arnold glanced over to see a lonely-looking redhead curled up on the small chair in the corner of the room.

"Connor!"

The District Leader's head snapped up, apparently lost in thought before.

"Yes, Arnold? Oh shoot, do we need more popcorn? Don't worry, I'll go get so-"

"We were wondering if you wanted to come over and sit on the floor and snuggle with us. You were looking kind of lonely over there," Arnold offered.

"Oh, no, I'm fine, I couldn't impose," Connor declined.

"Connor McKinley! I swear to fucking God if you don't get your ass over here, you won't live to see the morning," Kevin stated.  Connor seemed shocked; Kevin forgot sometimes that the elders weren't used to being allowed to swear.

"Um, well, okay," he stammered, seeing that Kevin was not going to take no as an answer.

And that's how all of the elders (including Naba) ended up in a puppy pile on the floor in a mess of fluffiness and pillows, everyone falling asleep warm and content.


	16. Finale

The following morning consisted of mild hangovers and grumpy elders in search of coffee. Elder Church and Poptarts were still cuddled together on the small couch, none of the missionaries having the heart to wake them up. Elder McKinley, however, seemed more experienced in the routine after a hangover. He was up earlier than everyone else and was currently passing out aspirin and coffee mugs, and would make offhand comments about how strong drinks like the ones last night sure do some damage in the morning. Kevin had his suspicions about his unsuspected knowledge, and thankfully his head didn't hurt too badly.

"Hey, Connor, can you come over here for a minute?" the tall brunette asked, wanting to confirm his hunch.

"Sure Kevin, what's up?" smiled Connor, walking over to one of the living room, albeit a little confused.

Kevin mentally prepared himself how this conversation was going to take place. Maybe, 'Hey, Connor, are you an alcoholic?' No, too forward. 'Connor, what the fuck?' Nope, too vague and alarming.

"Connor, how do you know what people want during a hangover?" There. Slightly intrusive, but if Kevin wanted to get to the bottom of the issue, this was decidedly the best option. 

Connor's face flushed, obviously not expecting the confrontation.

"Sorry if that was a bit too much, I was just concerned," Kevin amended, changing to a softer approach.

"It's nothing, Elder Price. Don't worry about me."

And with that, Connor plastered on a classic Price Smile and rushed back to the kitchen.

Kevin only stared after him, wondering how a conversation could've turned cold so quickly. He wasn't expecting the sudden arms circling around his middle, and flinched away from his boyfriend.

"Kevin? What's wrong?" Arnold asked, concerned.

"Something's up with Connor, and I don't know what to do with it," came the defeated response, because Kevin knew that even if he didn't want to answer a question that Arnold proposed, the latter would wriggle it out of him eventually.

"Maybe you should give him some space first, and then go and talk to him this afternoon?" The boy suggested, looking up at his companion with hopeful eyes.

"You're right. Maybe he can talk with me later after he's cooled down."

Kevin made a move back to the coffee pot, but Arnold gently grabbed his wrist before he could go anywhere.

"Hey, I know you guys are really good friends," Arnold said softly, "so please tell me how it goes. I want both of you to work everything out."

"It's okay, I will," Kevin said, kissing Arnold sweetly before pouring himself yet another cup of the bitter black liquid.

"Ewww, Kev, I don't know how you drink that stuff. It tastes like absolute sh-stuff, I mean," Arnold complained, crossing his arms in mock offense.

"Arnold, I'm telling you, it doesn't taste like shit if you put a fuck ton of sugar in," Kevin retorted, rolling his eyes. "Speaking of, dear, would you like to be a part of my weekly routine?"

"What routine?"

There were things Kevin Price simply enjoyed in their new life together. A prime example was swearing. For instance, he would randomly shout 'JESUS FUCKING CHRIST' to see how many elder he could make come running only to find out that it was one of Kevin's pranks. It had definitely rubbed off on the others, too. None of them used to use such supposed profanity until Kevin had started using the words in his daily vernacular. He was especially fond of swearing when the missionaries were least expecting it. 

"HOLY FUCKING SHIT YOU GUYS!" Kevin yelled, then smirked at Arnold as Poptarts fell out of Church's lap and scrambled into the kitchen, and only when he realized it was a joke he proceeded to flip him off.

 

That afternoon, Connor hadn't come inside from working out in the gardens with the Ugandans. Mafala noticed.

"Elder McKinley, something is not right with you today. Care to explain?" said the older man, growing worried at Connor's apparent sunburn and exhaustion and sensing his effort to repress his anxiety.

Connor stood up from planting the herbs and turned around to face Mafala, visibly uncomfortable at the situation.

"I'd rather not talk about it," Connor said apprehensively.

"C'mon, my boy, tell me what's on your mind. I can see that there is a lot more going on in that head of yours that you are sharing with me now."

Connor relented. He knew nothing good from denying the man an explanation. It had never worked before.

"Kevin asked me why I knew that the elders would be hungover in the morning since none of them had drunk before."

"And what did you say to that?"

"I ran, like always," Connor look dejectedly at the dirt.

"Connor, why do you run from your problems instead of facing them? You are such a good leader, but I've noticed that when someone even mentions your personal life, you flip your shit. What is going on with you?"

"I don't trust people who try and help me. I've had less-than-amazing experiences with those who try to make things better," he explained bitterly.

"You said 'none of them' instead of 'none of us'. Care to tell me why?" Mafala said, not giving up his interest in the subject so easily. Connor's eyes snapped to Mafala's in a state of unease, but he answered after a few seconds of hesitation.

"Well, following that experience, I guess I thought it would be better to be gay and break more rules. Like, I thought that if I was breaking one rule, I could break them all and it wouldn't really matter? So I turned to the liquor cabinet in one of my friend's house. No one else but the two of us ever knew about it. What a horrible Mormon, right? And then I became a fucking District Leader, how ironic. That's when I decided I had to make the other elders' lives better than I had it, so I faked it until it was almost natural to be so positive and cheerful all the time," Connor admitted.

"Elder McKinley, you have done nothing to deserve that. But you need to clear this up with Elder Price if you want things to go back to your regular friendship," Mafala recommended, reaching over to hug the young man.

"Thank you, Mafala. It really does mean a lot to have someone to talk to," Connor said, giving him a small smile.

"It is not a problem, my boy."

 

Back at the hut, Connor walked up to Kevin and Arnold's door, stopping to knock.

"Come in," came Kevin's voice.

He entered the room, looking as nervous as Kevin had ever seen him.

"Hey, Kevin, sorry about this morning," Connor started, fidgeting with his shirt. It wasn't a distraction enough from the fragile tension in the room: one that could potentially damage their carefully constructed friendship.

"It's fine, Connor, would you like to sit down?"

Connor, although quite anxiously, swallowed and sat down on the edge of the bed across from Kevin and started to speak.

"I, uh, wanted to apologize for my actions and give you more of an answer. Long story short, my life wasn't great for most of my childhood, and I got into some stuff I shouldn't have, included drinking. That's how it was until I came here and met you guys, and that's how I knew what would happen this morning," he clarified.

"I'm sorry I pried. I could've approached the topic in a better way," Kevin said.

"Are we good, though? I really don't know what I'd do without you as my friend," Connor said, looking a bit timid.

"Of course. I just wanted to make sure you're doing alright now," was the response.

"Yeah, I'm better now that I have you guys."

 

A couple of hours and an update to Arnold later, and the elders all gathered together for dinner. Elder Kimbe had taught them how to make a local dish with rice, meat, and spices, and the missionaries were filling up their bowl to the brim. The conversation between them came naturally and easily, and soon they were joking about Churchtarts and Pricingham as ship names, causing both pairs to turn as red as the tomatoes on the table. After all the dishes were washed and dried, Connor proposed a late-night walk under the stars, ignoring the teasing about his hopeless romatic ideals.

Kevin and Arnold chose to sit on a bench about a mile into the trail along the river, watching the sky turn from a bright fiery orange, to a deep purple, then to a deeper blue as millions of stars announced their presence. 

Suddenly, Arnold grabbed Kevin's hands earnestly.

"Hey Kevin?"

"Yeah, buddy?"

"I love you way too much."

"I promise, I love you more."

"Get a fucking room!" was called out from a distance, and the two wouldn't have it any other way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading! I really appreciate it and hope you have an amazing day because you deserve it!


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